Has American non-intervention in Syria reached the point of diminishing returns? For Saudi Arabia’s Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, columnist Tariq Alhomayed expresses extreme disappointment with the Obama Administration, which he contends is jeopardizing global economic stability and physical security across the Middle East by not stepping to help the Syrian rebels before Bashar al-Assad is toppled – and a dangerous power vacuum emerges.

To say that what is happening in Syria poses no risk to American security is nonsense, because the crisis in Syria affects the security of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and the entire Mediterranean. The failure in Syria means that the Arab world is confronted with its own Afghanistan in the Mediterranean, which means that a sectarian war is in the cards that will burn everything and everyone in the region, while fueling terrorism and destabilizing the whole of the Middle East, which in turn will deliver a blow to global economic stability. Just consider the damage pirates in Somalia have caused to the shipping industry – not to mention the position of al-Qaeda in Yemen, which has obliged Washington to repeatedly intervene there.

So the positions taken by the Obama Administration, not just today but yesterday as well, demonstrate both a lack of foresight and weak political leadership – especially with the rebels advancing and Assad besieged in Damascus. … Obama has the power to do all of this now. The problem we face is that he and his administration lack vision, are hesitant to act, and fail to see the danger of what’s coming. Assad is so close to falling. The danger is lies in what will come after him. So who is going to act? That is the question!